You'd think that by this time,
We'd be familiar--
Sweet William,
Wild Bill,
Maybe Billy Boy.
After all,
He's naked in the hallway,
Turning circles
Shuffling round the house.
Every night I sail with
Billy Collins.
And still it's Billy Collins, first and last.
I have known just Keats alone,
And Shelley. Shelley,
He's still three as in the past.
But as for my new lover
Billy Collins,
It's Billy first;
It's Billy Collins last.
Now I spend my nights with Billy Collins;
We're drinking tea and writing hard and fast.

He mentioned this thing he's got going with you, awhile ago -What scene would I want to be enveloped inmore than this one,an ordinary night at the kitchen table,floral wallpaper pressing in,white cabinets full of glass,the telephone silent,a pen tilted back in my hand?

He said there was nothing else he needed, not even a coffee-colored Aston Martin DB4. The two of you must be having a very good time.Thanks for signing on again. I was missing you.

Next, you'll write to me about you and Billy chopping parsley while listening to Art Blakey's version of "Three Blind Mice" Have fun and tell Billy Boy I said "hey"! ***This will be added to my top five fav Karen poems!!!*** I love it that much!

I've been a fan of Billy for years. One of the better things he has done is set up a program for high school students to study a poem a day in school with a list of poems found at the Library of Congress site. http://www.loc.gov/poetry/180

Here is his poem posted there:

Introduction to PoetryBilly Collins

I ask them to take a poemand hold it up to the lightlike a color slide

or press an ear against its hive.

I say drop a mouse into a poemand watch him probe his way out,

or walk inside the poem's roomand feel the walls for a light switch.

I want them to waterskiacross the surface of a poemwaving at the author's name on the shore.

But all they want to dois tie the poem to a chair with ropeand torture a confession out of it.

They begin beating it with a hoseto find out what it really means.

from The Apple that Astonished Paris, 1996University of Arkansas Press, Fayetteville, Ark.Permissions information.

Oh, I like this, with the writing hard & fast at the end & all. Perhaps I will go check out this Billy person after all (poet laureate credentials counting for little; i never can figure out what makes one exalted and the next unheard from. never much liked the right poems in school.)

Christopher - Thanks for posting that poem here. I think you've given those who don't know him a great introduction to Billy Collins.

Argent - Billy Collins is such a wonderful talent! He says that he doesn't believe that one should have had to "be there" to understand a poem, which makes him accessible, yet his work is profoundly human and unique.

Peter - Thank you. Any time you mention rhythm or rhyme, I just glow!

Doctor - Thank you!

NanU - Title or not, I think you'd like Billy Collins. He would not have been on your teacher's best poet list (unless he or she is incredibly cool and contemporary)!

Kat - Just Google him or go to Poets.org. You'll find enough to charm, I am sure. Read the one about Chopping Parsley while listenting to Art Blakely's Rendition of Three Blind Mice that Kay references above. Then read many, many! He's that good.

I love Billy Collins for many reasons. He's a genius, but he's not pretentious. And how awesome that your poem gives a wink to "The Names." I also love Billy Collin for that poem and that he wouldn't put it in a book or profit from it.

The beginning of your poem is awesome in its playfulness. It also reminds me of Collins' voice in some of his more lighthearted poems. BUT it is not a copy. That's not easy to do, and I applaud you for that.

I love these lines:

"He's naked in the hallway,Turning circlesShuffling round the house."

Excellent work, Karen! I enjoyed it very much and am glad you are reading Billy Collins' work.

i'm ashamed to admit that i haven't read any billy collins either. but happy to say that i happen to be in a library right now, so i'll be fixing that this afternoon.

and i bet that the more familiar i am with him, the more i'll appreciate this poem. but right now, the way this is woven with such esteem and respect, and how the admiration becomes inspiration by the end - author and reader becoming co-conspirators - makes me need to know what i'm missing. :)

Julie - What I love about Billy Collins' work is that he is accessible to everyone. He doesn't believe in being obscure, yet he is profound. His work gives much to aspire to, and that you even say there's an echo of him (dim, fading, gone) in my few lines flatters me terribly. Wish I could believe it, but it's a nice fantasy! ;-)

Margaret - The poem Christopher posted is an excellent example of Billy Collins work. Isn't it amazing? What a poet!

Willow - Thanks. I love finding a kindred spirit!

joaquin - Don't be ashamed. Just remedy! I think you'll find him an amazing poet. You can also look of poets.org and find much of his work there. Google him and you'll find a site where he reads his own work. He's quite human--and quite good!

Please be polite!

Poetry Jam

imaginary gardens with real toads

C'est moi

Secret No More

...there was a new voice which you slowly recognized as your own, that kept you company as you strode deeper and deeper into the world, determined to do the only thing you could do -- determined to save the only life you could save." — Mary Oliver